If a hose reel sprayer is calibrated to apply 2 gallons per 1,000 square feet, how many gallons are required to treat 5,000 square feet?

• A. 10 gallons
• B. 5 gallons
• C. 2 gallons
• D. 20 gallons

Answer: (A)

This problem hinges on applying a constant rate to a larger area. You have a spray rate of 2 gallons per 1,000 square feet, so to treat 5,000 square feet you scale by how many thousands of square feet you have: 5,000 ÷ 1,000 = 5. Multiply the rate by that factor: 5 × 2 gallons = 10 gallons. So 10 gallons are needed. If you used other amounts, they’d correspond to treating different areas at the same rate (for example, 5 gallons would cover 2,500 sq ft, 2 gallons would cover 1,000 sq ft, and 20 gallons would cover 10,000 sq ft).